A wonderfully zany and hilarious romantic comedy from the sixties that will entertain you with its cast full of big-name stars such as Peter Sellers, Peter O’Toole, Romy Schneider, Ursula Andress, Capucine, Paula Prentiss, Woody Allen (in his acting and screenwriting debut) and more. When babe-magnet Michael (O’Toole) gets engaged to his “pussycat” Carole (Schneider), he pays a visit to a demented psychiatrist named Dr. Sigismund Fassbinder (Sellers) because he’s not sure he can stay faithful to her and he wants to reform. This visit leads them, and a whole slew of quirky characters, to some insane adventures that eventually all end up in the famous Chateau Chantel. Originally released in 1965 with musical score by Burt Bacharach.

IS IT A GOOD MOVIE?

This has always been one of my all-time favorite films and not only because of its theme song, the fabulous “What’s New Pussycat?” sung by Tom Jones, but because it’s full of zaniness and fun times. It’s a film to be enjoyed, rather than analyzed and you don’t need to ponder things through when watching this, just take it all in. Yes, some films are informative and educational, some are inspirational and make you realize things in life, this one just makes you laugh and forget your reality, which is exactly my kind of film. If I wanted to analyze things, I’d go back to school. That said, the other thing I love about this film is the huge cast of big names acting in it, and these are some of the coolest actors out there, especially Peter O’Toole, the main actor, although Sellers’ character and Schneider’s also play big roles. Kudos to Woody Allen for the amazingly funny screenplay he wrote, and his big acting debut is worth seeing. All actors are very talented in this film, except for Ursula Andress, but we forgive her due to her astounding beauty.

One particular scene that got me was when Dr. Fassbinder (Sellers) goes to commit suicide at the edge of the water, and Victor (Allen) comes to the same spot to eat a candle-lit dinner by himself. Of course this situation doesn’t work because no one wants to commit suicide with an audience, and some crazy antics ensue. Another great scene is when Ursula Andress drops in, literally, into James’ car as he’s driving away from his temptations. And she isn’t the only eye-candy here as almost every female in this film is gorgeous, especially Capucine, with her perfect bone structure, and Romy Schneider, with her cat-like eyes. Lastly, Paula Prentiss is perfect as the politically motivated suicidal stripper who’s chasing Michael too. Like he doesn’t have enough problems! It seems the more Michael tries to escape his women, the more they go after him.

THE EXTRAS

There are no extras.

FINAL DIAGNOSIS

This classic comedy wins over a lot of fans partly because when a film has this many great stars in it, there are more chances you’ll like at least one of those stars and you’ll be more likely to watch the film. Sometimes I won’t rent a film simply because I don’t like the actors in it. You have no excuse like that in this case, really. Furthermore, the writing is witty and humorous, the acting is top-notch and the premise is a hoot. The only drawback is that there are no special features to go along with this DVD, but that aside, it’s got Peter O’Toole and Peter Sellers in it with a screenplay and some acting by Woody Allen. What more can one ask for in a great film? A sure-fire winner in every sense of the word.